class readings # 1 - Kim robinson

For our class assignment I read pages 110 to 114 and in this section dealt with “learned languags” as he calls it, or languages like latin which faded out in everyday speech thousands of years ago. Instead of latin appealing to the masses across the empire, individual local forms of language were formed, what we call the romance languages, such as Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Italian. He continues on to say how latin has become the language of academia, or learned language. “ Latin had become Learned Latin, a language completely controlled by writing whereas the new romance vernaculars had developed out of Latin as languages had always developed, orally (p. 111).” All over the world, languages have died out and new ones developed in their place. Especially to Americans some of these languages that have died out over time but were pivotal parts of history are unknown to most. Languages like Arabic, even though it’s still popular over seas and to those who speak the language, most americans probably couldn’t tell you a single word in the language. It’s sad in a way that these great languages that were so influential in the development of the world today and how cultures got their start, whether they were direct branchings from the ancient ways, or newer cultures that are still effected by those in the past. A large section of the world began out of the fertile crescent with Sanskrit, Sumerian, Arabic, and Aramaic and few people know anything about them. Even languages that are more common to westerners like ancient Greek and Latin are still given little thought. Latin has been intertwined into our American culture with phrases being placed on such common items as our currency or government buildings and used as mottos for multiple companies and organizations. More attention needs to be brought to these died out languages so that our upcoming generations don’t let the languages just fade out.